I've always wondered if customer service reps have a "customer score" on their screen when evaluating whether to accept a return or not. I hardly ever return things, and on the rare occasion that I do, if I need to chat with an Amazon rep they are always very willing to bend some rules. I'm not sure if that's the case for everyone, or if they can see I hardly return things (and buy a lot) and therefore have the green light to let some things slide.
I'm sure all of the major retailers have found a way to make someone else eat the cost of returns, likely their suppliers (manufacturers). With the suppliers still not wanting to leave the platforms because that is where most of the customers are. It's the only way I can explain the abjectly terrible job places will do packing things, how little they care about what went wrong, and how readily they will keep on refunding/resending.
